To Radiata, With Love
by Icebox Plums
Summary: Temp. Title.  While on her archeological internship, Cassandra presses a switch she really shouldn't have, and ends up in Tottaus.  Read AN inside for full information on stuff.
1. I wonder what happens when

A/N: This was just one of those ideas floating around in my head... now it's floating around in cyberspace. The title has nothing to do with the story, and it's only temporary, anyway. It was taken from Lulu's _To Sir, With Love_, which, although an excellent song/album, has nothing to do with this story. I don't write songfics XP See profile for disclaimer info - I am not getting sued, since, for the record, I only own stuff not seen in the game or any other copyrighted material. Oh, yeah... and this is not a self-insert (I_ loathe _self-inserts), and if you even catch an inkling of Mary-Sueage, contact me immediately and it will be fixed. And... start!

To Radiata, With Love

Chapter One

Let's see what happens when...

"Do it. I dare you." Dr. Taylor grinned at me, knowing I would accept her challenge.

"Fine. But you have to test the next one, OK?" I grinned. Eyeing the device we'd uncovered over the last two days, I considered what I was about to do. What if something happened? Obviously, Dr. Taylor caught my slip in time and thought, and snapped her impatient fingers in front of my face. "Do you want to lose your internship?"

I stuck my tongue out at her, knowing she was just joking. Before I could lose my nerve, I quickly threw the switch.

Nothing happened.

Sighing with relief, I brushed a bit of dust and sweat off of my forehead. Catacombs are both hot and dusty, which can render even the coolest person caked in a slight layer of mud. And smelly, of course. Very, very smelly.

Dr. Taylor laughed at me and stuck out _her_ tongue. "See? I told you there were no Tomb Raider switches in here. No hidden doors, no spike traps. Are you cool now?"

Flushing slightly, I said, "Yeah. Cool. Perfectly fine." My voice didn't sqeak at the end. Nope, not at all.

Dr. Taylor sighed and stuck her tongue out at me once more. "Well," she said, "A deal's a deal, right? Now I have to try the next one. Watch out for those hidden spikes in the walls."

I sure as heck didn't look for watch for them. No, siree!

I did, however, watch Dr. Taylor press the large brick in what looked like a large stone box. I was certainly not prepared for the bright, blinding light that permeated the dark catacombs we were exploring.

"Doctor Taylor! Are you all right? Doctor Taylor?" I did not hear anything. Worried, I called out once more.

"Doctor! Emily! Where are you?"

My eyes began to adjust to the darkness. All of our lights had gone out, and the rank smell of the gas lamp was getting stronger.

_Oh no... I could suffocate! What do I do? What do I do? _I thought, panicking. _Where is Dr. Taylor? Why are the lights out? Oh my God, I could blow up with this tomb!_ At the moment, I regretted the urge I had to conquer my claustrophobia by taking an archaeology internship with the wierdest scientist ever. _I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!_

Suddenly, switches were the last thing on my mind as I tried to rationalize. _Okay... I need to get out, fast. Where am I, first of all. Then follow the wall and the rope back to the exit. _I grabbed my safety rope, which followed us all the way into the catacombs. Trying to take deep breaths but failing because of the noxious gas fumes, I fuzzily reached for the wall and whacked the switch that Dr. Taylor had pressed.

- - -

_Ouch. Heaven help me, ouch!_

I wasn't unconcious; that was the first good thing. I was in the sunlight; there were no gas fumes, and that was the second good thing. But where was I? How did I get here? And why does my head hurt so much?

After a moment of reflection, it came to me that my head must have hit the wall behind me. I was lying on warm stone bricks... where was the last place I saw those? The renaissance faire?

I slowly got up and took in my surroundings. I was lying in what was kind of a trash heap... my tan work outfit was covered not only in mud, but a few spare pieces of waste. A fence soared overhead, and in the distance, a large red building towered over anything else.

_Something seems odd... I just don't know what it is yet, _I thought to myself. _Well... where do I go from here? _I ruminated for awhile... mostly on how I know the word "ruminated," but still. I decided to head for the large red building, since they might know what the heck's going on. Or something.

I tried to brush the garbage off of myself when an old man started walking towards me. Thank god!

"Sir," I said hastily, "Could you tell me where I am?"

After a short grumble about "respecting their elders," the man introduced himself as Zeranium. "Miss," he said after I introduced myself, "You are right next to Faucon gate. The Beast Pit is _that_ way-" he pointed, "and Vareth is _that _way." He pointed once more. "You can't get to the castle from here, but if you go around Blue Town you should be able to find the way."

I blinked. Could it be possible? It seemed like half a lifetime ago since I'd played, but the larger details stuck out in my mind. Could I be inside Radiata? Could I be inside a video game?

Either that or I was hallucinating from the gas fumes.

"Thank you, Mister Zeranium." I decided that formality was probably the best way to go. After all, you never know where you'll get by smiling, being polite, and crying in front of male police officers-

Well,_ I _got a warning. Ha, ha.

Anyway, I wandered towards what I hoped was Olacion, since they were all healing-type people and I had one monster of a headache. I didn't remember exactly where to go... I hadn't played in years, and I forgot where Zeranium pointed. As soon as I became aware I was going the wrong way...

"Oomph!" I had walked into a very short, stout man. I'm not that tall, but this guy sure made me feel like it.

"Who are you, miss?" He asked. I vaguely remembered him from the game - Ganz, son of Gawain, captain dude turned bandit. Other than that, I drew a giant blank.

I decided to pretend I didn't know him so I wouldn't seem crazy. "Hello, sir. My name is Cassandra Ellingson, and I am lost."

He did his theatrical help-people face, and proceeded to ask, "Where are you trying to get to?"

After a split second of thought, I replied, "Somewhere I can sleep for the night. I just now... moved here," I said quickly, "and I don't know where to go."

"Well, that is just too bad, isn't it?" He said with a frown. "I may be able to help, though," he added with a slight grin. I suddenly got the impression that he wasn't the smartest guy, but he was immensely helpful.

"Ganz!" Came a female shout, followed by light footsteps. "Ganz, we have to-" She stopped. "Who's your friend?" She teased. Ganz blushed, then cleared his throat.

"Miss Ellingson needs a place to stay, and I was about to offer-" He was cut off by the skinny female, who although short, was still taller than him.

"Do you even know her?"

"We only just met, but-"

She sighed, then turned to me. "I'm Flau," she introduced herself. I didn't remember that much about her, but now that I knew who she was I had a better idea.

"I'm Cassie," I responded. We shook hands, and Ganz asked, "Well, what about it? Just for one night, until she can find somewhere else."

Flau gave me a critical once-over. "All right, but you're taking responsibility if anything happens."

At last! A bed! I was so overwhelmed that I didn't even stop to think of what I was getting myself into.

Well, that and I still thought I was high off of the gas fumes. But I digress.


	2. Adjustments

A/N: I've finally written Chapter Two. Hope you guys like it... I forgot it existed for awhile, but some careful prodding by reviewers persuaded me to write more. I did a little humor in this chapter - not the subtle kind I like, but it fits with Radiata Stories, I think.

To Radiata, With Love

Chapter Two

Adjustments

"_This_ is your house?" I asked Ganz critically. It was a bit messy, except for a small corner with two beds. Two other beds were buried deep in a pile of mess.

"Home Sweet Home," he answered, beaming with pride. Why he would, I don't know.

Flau sat on her "bed" _(read: pile of clothes) _and asked, "Whatcha think Rynka'll do?"

Oh. Rynka. Forgot about her for a moment there... didn't she have a kid?

"I do believe that Ms. Rynka will not be opposed to one night. She really is a kind person," Ganz rationalized.

Flau wrinkled her nose. "You know, it's really starting to smell in here. No offense," She indicated me, "but you need a bath."

"None taken, Flau. Where can I get clean?" I asked.

"Down that hall," she pointed, "and it's the door on the left. Don't go through the door on the right, and you'll be fine."

_Why not?_ I wondered. But my better judgement overruled my curiosity as I sighed and headed for the bathroom with my old smelly clothes.

---

Was that what passed for a bathroom? It was almost as icky as the main room. I came out, towelling off my hair, when I saw Rynka and her son.

She stared at me for a moment, then said in a low tone, "She can only stay one night. After that, we have work to do."

I smiled, even though I felt like I was being critically analyzed. "I only intend to stay one night. Thank you for putting up with me."

I think she could tell my smile was fake.

Ganz, gentleman that he was, laid out a bedroll on the ground for me. I dozed off quickly.

---

"Hungry..." I muttered as I woke up. Did I miss dinner last night? Dr. Taylor would be so mad...

Then I remembered. With a resounding sigh, I got up to find everyone else still sleeping. _Might as well leave a note_, I thought. I found a piece of scrap paper and a charcoal pencil and left a note that read:

_Ganz, Flau, and Rynka: Going out to look for a job. Will tell you when I've found one, and pay you back for the night's stay. Don't worry about me._

_Cassie_

I signed my name with a flourish and set the note in plain sight (which was in the clean section of the room - ironically, Rynka's).

I headed outside into the morning sunshine. If I was going to fit in, I needed money. If I needed money, I'd have to work. It seemed logical at the time. But what did I want to do? Being a warrior was out, seeing as how I haven't picked up a weapon a day in my life. Well, there was that one relic, but I was wearing gloves at the time so I wouldn't damage it.

Olacion... priests and doctors. Maybe. I'm not that great at religion, though, and being a doctor... maybe a shopkeeper or something, but a doctor?

_What else was there?_, I wondered. There were four districts... then I remembered what Zeranium had said the other day.

_Mage Town!_ I'd be good at that. No physical activity, and mostly studying. I had gone through college doing just that, so why not again?

I'd forgotten that I'd hated college.

---

"So, you're looking for a job? What are your qualifications?" The receptionist asked.

"I've been through schooling until I was twenty-two... I had a job at McDonald's once, but you might not know where that is."

"McDonalds? What kind of place was that? Another school like Vareth?"

"Uh... yeah, yeah, it was a great place that taught over a billion students." _And the food was terrible, but she doesn't have to know that._

She looked at her paperwork, and asked, "Would you like to study here while you work?"

I beamed at the idea. "Sure. It can't hurt. How much would it cost?"

She did a quick figuring, and noted, "Ten to twenty percent of your earnings, depending on the job you get. We have a secretary position, librarian's assistant, and cafeteria assistant. They all pay about the same, I think. Let me check-" She looked through the papers again. "-yes, they do pay about the same. Which do you want?"

I thought about it for a moment. I could write all day, file books, or cook. "Books," I said out loud. "I mean, Librarian's assistant."

"Great!" She smiled. "Leann could use some help up there. It's not often that people put things back where they belong." Her face took on an evil grin. "Sign this, initial here, and sign on the back again. Welcome to Vareth."

I signed hesitantly at first, but the dullness of the paperwork took away my suspicions.

"Come back here tomorrow and we'll get you a timetable and show you to your room. Here's the slip you'll need to show you're identity-" She handed me a small slip of paper. "Have a great day."

"You too... and thanks for the job." I smiled happily as I walked away.


End file.
